ABSTRACT
Most studies of migration focus either on the Americas or Asia or Africa but few focus on both Africa and Asia and the impact of migration on these two continents. This chapter explores migration flows – the movement of a person or a group of persons from one place to another – in Africa and Asia from pre-modern to contemporary times. In terms of territory Asia is the largest region in the world with 50 countries. It is also the most populous, with more than 4.4 billion people, which to a great extent explains why, in 2015, nearly half of all international migrants worldwide (104 million of 244 million) were born in Asia (IOM, 2015). In contrast, in Africa in 2015 only 34 million international migrants were born in the continent, despite a population of 1.2 billion people spread over 54 countries. These numbers complement recent studies which show that in the post-colonial period African migration has been overwhelmingly intra-continental (Flahaux & De Haas, 2016; Fernandez, 2014; Castles & Miller, 2003). The porous borders and geography help to explain the high incidence of inter-state migration in sub-Saharan Africa, while people in the North are more prone to migrate due to their proximity to Europe (Lucas, 2013:12). Strangely (or not), according to Shimeles (2010:5) and Zeleza (2010:4), those of African descent living outside of the continent number 140–160 million people. Past African mass migrations explain this trend. To a certain extent, migrants have always been ‘forced’ to leave home as migration has always implied some kind of grievance, with several studies showing that migrants tend to be less happy than the indigenous host population (Collier, 2013:172). Given the scope of migration the focus of this chapter is on international migration not internal, though according to Castles & Miller (2003) the process of mobility begins with this latter type. Since ancient times (before the fifteenth century) sub-Saharan Africans experienced forced migration (Zeleza, 2010:12; Collins, 2008:7–8). This chapter argues that earlier, modern and even contemporary forms of human mobility share some of the causes of human displacement across and within borders, as kingdoms and great powers victimized thousands or millions of people in both continents to attain their geostrategic, economic, development and trade interests. Enslaved Islam, the transatlantic slave trade, and the mass movement of Asian labour under colonialism and European contemporary interactions after decolonization are all disguised forms of ‘forced’ migration that intentionally or not connected these two continents and led to the establishment, expansion and rupture of global empires and the 425formation of modern states in Africa and Asia. Though in a strict sense the above migrants do not fit into the category of forced migration, which includes refugees and internally displaced persons, also studied in this Handbook (see Bose, Chapter 29), Gold & Nawyn (2013a:97) observe that scholarship has aptly criticized the dichotomy between forced and economic migrants and, as this chapter will show, most of them did not have a choice but to move. To understand how the actions of nation-states are associated with global migrations, here seen as transcontinental connections, one must see them through the lens of changes in world politics with an emphasis on geopolitical and economic factors. Further, how has migration changed in Africa and Asia throughout time? What are the underlying causes and the effects of these migrant connections from and within continents? These questions provide an overview of the mobility trends, geographical patterns and recent forms of international migration from a global, historical and contemporary perspective beyond the disciplinary and methodological limitations that often hinder migration studies.
